GlobalGiving.org: Help Dogs Save Cats

Eight Little Puppies - Born to Save Big Cats

Beth Fellenstein — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:29:49 GMT

Uschi with pups

It was the fourth day of November and the staff in Namibia was abuzz with the news that Uschi had finally given birth.They gathered around as Uschi, an Anotolian Shepherd, dutifully began licking, cleaning and preening her litter of eight little puppies. A litter of pups whose lives will be dedicated to the protection of Cheetahs. Even before their birth, the future of these puppies had been preordained. From the day they entered the world they began training for their life’s purpose. These adorable newborns will play a role that greatly impacts the cheetah’s survival.

The litter is part of our Livestock Guard Dog Program, just one piece of CCF’s holistic approach to saving the cheetah. Bred to watch over and protect livestock, these newborns will soon be given to livestock farmers to guard their herds, protecting them from cheetahs and other predators.

In the passing weeks since their birth, the puppies have opened their eyes and have begun eating solid foods. Each is developing his or her own unique personality. While they are with us, their contact with people is limited. The purpose is to minimize their bond with humans, so they remain focused on their guarding instincts.

The Anatolian doesn't attack a predator, but rather wards them off with its loud barking. That barking is usually sufficient to chase off a cheetah, which is a nervous creature by nature. Of course, if necessary, these dogs will fight valiantly to protect their herd. If the dogs can keep the cheetahs away from the livestock, then it is less likely that a farmer will shoot or trap them. The Anatolian truly act as a diplomat between humans and cheetahs, enabling them to coexist.

In just a few more weeks, after they have been weaned from Uschi, the puppies will be delivered to their new homes at various livestock farms. The pups will live with the livestock that they will protect, creating an inseparable bond between dog and livestock. Soon, because of support like yours, these helpless puppies will grow into fearless protectors of livestock and, in essence, protectors of the cheetah.

To encourage farmers to take on the responsibility of another animal, we give them the dogs for free, provide training and provide free veterinary care. We are able to do this because of contributions like yours

Laurie L. Marker, DPhil

Founder and Executive Director

Uschi's pups take a nap

Full grown livestock guard dog

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Springtime in Namibia!

Allison Rogers — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:37:22 GMT

Worth his weight in gold

It's springtime in Namibia, and in addition to a slew of baby goats, we've had two litters of puppies at CCF and a third is "in the oven". The first group was recently vaccinated and spayed or neutered and given out to farmers around Namibia. (The farmers attend Puppy Day at CCF to learn how to take care of and train their new charge.) The next litter will follow soon. After nursing and caring for these little ones for two months, we all grow attached, but we know they are going on to do the greatest work--saving an endangered species. These adorable little pups will grow up to be so protective of their goat and sheep herds that they will fight to the death if they have to. Luckily they don't usually have to do more than bark. We have three new females at CCF as well as an intact female in the southern part of the country, so we hope to increase the number of litters we have each year. Even after giving out these three litters, we'll still have a waiting list of more than 100 farmers. Thank you for your support of this critical project! Please spread the word.

A farmer picks up his pup from CCF

More puppies on the way

Allison Rogers — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:40:04 GMT

Thanks to the support CCF has received for our livestock guarding dog program, things are going very well. At CCF's headquarters in Namibia, we have two litters of puppies on the way. The puppies are born and reared in the goat pen so that they bond with goats. When they are at least 8 weeks old they are neutered and sent to live with their new goat herds. Before taking their puppies home, their new owners have to attend puppy class so they'll understand how to properly use and care for livestock guarding dogs. We follow up on each of the puppies to make sure they are healthy and doing what they're supposed to.

On another note, CCF has received a grant to study whether a vitamin deficiency is related to the high incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in dogs in southern Africa. We've got to find a way to lower the incidence of this type of cancer so that the livestock guarding dogs can live long, healthy lives saving cheetahs. We will update our supporters on GlobalGiving as we learn more.

As always, thank you so much for your support of this groundbreaking program!

The hard reality of a livestock guarding dog's life

Allison Rogers — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:06:37 GMT

I'm sad to report that one of CCF's young Kangal guard dogs, Cazgir, died a few weeks ago. Cazgir had been imported to CCF from the United States to help build up the Kangal breeding lines. Cazgir was a victim of a disease that is causing serious problems with livestock guarding dogs in sub-Saharan Africa: lingual squamous cell carcinoma (or SCC of the tongue). SCC is much more prevalent in dogs in sub-Saharan Africa than in other parts of the world, probably due to damage caused from sun exposure. CCF is working hard to determine if there are other predisposing factors, such as nutrition and genetics, and we are also trying out various methods of early diagnosis and treatments. Because livestock guarding dogs are the greatest hope for the survival of cheetahs, we cannot abandon the program. We simply must find a way to stop SCC. We will keep you informed of the progress we make. In the meantime, we mourn the loss of Cazgir. These dogs are so much more than guard dogs to the staff. Thank you for your support of this very important program.

New puppies flourishing

Gail Potgieter — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:39:19 GMT

In 2010 we added four puppies to expand the livestock guarding dog breeding program at the Cheetah Conservation Fund's research station in Namibia. Aleya, the eldest of the four and imported from Germany, is now more legs than dog and promises to become an elegant Kangal when she grows into those legs! Chino--one of the puppies from the artificial insemination litter--is an exceptionally affectionate little Anatolian who greets us with enthusiasm every morning and patiently endures being checked for ticks. Our French duo, Firat and Feliz, have quickly become part of the dog/livestock family. This is especially true for young Firat who never wants to leave his herd and howls when separated from them. These four young dogs represent a bright future for our guarding dog programme, so their excellent progress as working dogs is especially encouraging. This year, we will continue to breed our adult dogs and hope to produce four litters: two from our Anatolian females, Uschi and Penda, and our first Kangal litters from Cazgir and Hediye. After her 2010 litter, Tylee was spayed and is now a staff pet. In her breeding days, she gave us 58 future livestock guarding dogs. If one guard dog can reduce predation on a livestock herd by 80-100%, thus negating the need for a farmer to shoot predators, imagine the impact she made during her "career." Thank you, Tylee.

Puppy Day at CCF

Allison Rogers — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:15:59 GMT

Communal farmers in Namibia receive puppies

Two more livestock guarding dogs were placed with Namibian farmers on Saturday, October 23. The farms were visited by CCF staff before puppy day to ensure that the puppies’ new homes would be suitable and to meet the farmers that would take care of them. These two farmers (Mr. Katuuo and Mr. Kavari) are both communal farmers from eastern Namibia. They had reported stock losses to cheetahs and other predators, including wild dogs, and had applied to CCF for dogs to put with their livestock.

During puppy day at CCF, the farmers were trained on how to care for and train their new puppies to become successful guarding dogs. They were further provided with information to take home on training livestock guarding dogs, predator-friendly farming practices and ways to reduce livestock losses to cheetahs and other predators. These beautiful (and big!) puppies will be placed immediately among the farmers' goats and sheep and very soon will be benefiting the farmer by decreasing livestock losses due to predation and saving cheetahs by negating the farmers' perceived need to kill predators to prevent (or retaliate against) livestock loss. It's a win/win program that is possible due to your donations. Thank you for your support!

A first for CCF's dog program

Allison Rogers — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:23:28 GMT

August is turning out to be a great month for CCF's Livestock Guarding Dog Programme. Just last week, one of CCF's female Anatolians gave birth to the first litter created through artificial insemination (AI). AI allows CCF to expand its breeding programme beyond the males at CCF, to keep the gene pool of the guarding dogs in Namibia as deep as possible. This is a great advance for CCF and the LGD programme.

In addition, the miracle cubs, who survived their pregnant mother being bitten by a puff adder, are going to their new homes throughout Namibia this week. We expect great things from these dogs, given everything they survived before birth! We have another litter expected at the end of the month, and I will let you know how that one turns out. In the meantime, thank you for your support of this incredibly successful programme.

The miracle litter!

Allison Rogers — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:56:34 GMT

CCF's newest litter of livestock guarding dogs!

Last night (June 6), CCF's livestock guarding dog Penda gave birth to a litter of 9 guarding dogs-to-be. A few weeks ago, Penda was bitten by a puff adder, one of the deadly venomous snakes Namibia is famous for. We didn't know if she would survive, let alone if her pups would. Luckily, all 9--5 boys and 4 girls--seem healthy and are very cute. Given their miraculous start to life, we know these pups will go on to be great livestock guarding dogs. Thank you for your support of this very successful program!

A new year for livestock guarding dogs

Allison Rogers — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:57:06 GMT

A total of 21 puppies were placed as working dogs during 2009. One puppy was placed intact with a farmer in southern Namibia who plans to breed in the future. This will allow the CCF dog program to increase its coverage in Namibia.

In 2010, CCF plans to import one male Kangal Livestock Guard Dog from a different bloodline, to diversify the breeding program, and to breed, train and put into use approximately 30 livestock guarding dog puppies. Please help us with this wonderful program!

Attachments:

Anatolian_pup_with_herdlow.tif (TIF)

More puppies go to farmers!

Allison Rogers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:44:18 GMT

Last month CCF gave out another litter of livestock guarding dogs to communal farmers in Namibia, to protect their livestock from predators. The puppies are so cute, it's hard to let them go, but they are doing a great job--farmers with livestock guarding dogs report that predation on their herds is down up to 80%--and without killing any cheetahs. Thank you for helping keep this important initiative going.

Dogs Saving Cheetahs in Namibia

Patricia Tricorache — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:36:29 GMT

Kenya puppy

CCF's Livestock Guarding Dog Program is considered one of the most successful conservation projects in regards to human / predator challenges, and currently involves 121 working dogs.

In 2008, CCF successfully bred and placed 42 Anatolian and Mongretolian (¾ Anatolian ¼ mongrel) puppies. Another pup, "Isha," has been placed at the CCF director's house as a pet and left intact for possible future breeding. She is also being trained to detect cheetah scat.

A highlight of the programme in 2008 was the placement of one male puppy in the Mara Conservancy in Kenya to live amongst the local Masai and guard their livestock. In addition, CCF received two new breeding dogs early in 2008, thanks to the SPOTS Foundation in Holland and two generous Turkish Kangal breeders.

Spots at work